Identification band



1963 J. G. BAUMGARTNER 3,106,028

IDENTIFICATION BAND Filed May 26, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet-1 H BLUE TAB AT ONAFTER CARDIN BAND IATI 3 time rim 1 msimms g b 2 2a,

J. G. BAUMGARTNER 3,106,028

IDENTIFICATION BAND Oct. 8, 1963 v 37 6 22a 1 3 ml 221)ZHIIIIIIHHW/Aillllllhf/. ///.\\\\\l|l\\ I "minimum L United StatesPatent 3,106,028 IDENTIFICATION BAND Filed May 26, 1960, Ser. No. 31,9295 Claims. (Cl. SO- 21) This invention relates generally toidentification bands or bracelets worn by a person on the wrist oraround the arm, and including therewith the desired identification ofthe wearer. More particularly this invent-ion concerns an all-plasticidentification band or bracelet which is san itary and provided in acompletely assembled condition for easy and rapid application to the armof a patient in the hospital, and particularly to newborn infants, so asto provide positive identification for the patient or infant duringtheir entire stay in the hospital.

This application is a continuation in part of application SerialNo.803,654, filed April 2, 1959 and now abandoned.

Although identification bands or bracelets have been known for manyyears and had a tremendous application during the War, identificationbands used in the hospital field have been objectionable from severalstandpoints. One objection of the prior bands was that they were in morethan one piece and consequently required some care in storage of theparts and then in assembling the parts for applicationto a person in thehospital. Both time and simplicity of action are essential in allhospital activities, and the conditions at the time of application of anidentification band are often such that difficulty in placing the bandon the patient or newborn infant berequired for proper application ofthe device.

In addition, there has been the problem of safeguarding against the riskof premature removal of the band, for unless an identification band istamper-proof and can only be removed with difficulty, the fundamentalpurpose for using such a band will 'be defeated.

In view of the fact that many millions of bands are now being used eachyear in hospitals, and the expectation that more and more hospitals willrequire the practice of applying identification bands upon entering ahospital, the provision of a band with all of the necessary anddesirable features has become an extremely important commercial andmedical problem.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a fullyassembled identification band for use in a hospital and elsewhere whichis sanitary and meets "all requirements for a product intended forhospital use.

Another object is to provide such an identification band which isrugged, and yet simple and inexpensive in structure, so as to satisfythe mass need for a reliable device and be disposable after just oneuse. 7

A still further object of the invention is to provide a plasticidentification band in a construction such that it may be quickly andsimply fitted to and fastened upon the wrist of a person without the useof any tools, and of a construction so that it is retained on the wristin a position which is locked for all practical purposes and can beremoved only by cutting the band or by some corresponding action.

A feature of my invention is the provision of an identi- 3,105,028Patented Oct. 8, 1963 fication band with a molded structure in one pieceserving as the body therefor which carries a pocket forming envelopereadily assembled thereon by being sealed only to itself in a fixedposition on the structure, and which band requires no other assembly ofparts in order to make it ready for use.

Another feature of my invention is the provision of a one-piece plasticidentification band which is flexible to a degree but has a minimum ofelasticity, and constitutes a band which may be quickly fitted aroundthe wrist or arm of a patient without the use of tools. Thereafter theband can be removed only but cutting it with scissors or the like sothat the patients identity is assured until the hospital desires theband removed.

Still another feature is the Provision of such a band having integralfastener and strap portions which will lock themselves in a desiredposition as the band is fitted around the patients Wrist or arm, andwhich will resist unfastening and removal from the patient.

A further feature of the invention is the provision of such anidentification b and in a soft, moisture resistant or waterproof,non-toxic plastic product available for use in the hospital as aninexpensive item which must be destroyed to be removed from the patient,and is therefore not reusable.

In the accompanying drawings:

. FIG. 1 is a plan view in actual size of one commercial embodiment ofan identification band in accordance with the present invention with anidentification card shown alongside the band receiving pocket thereof;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the method of applying theband to the wrist of a patient;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the band fastened on the wrist ofthe patient;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary top view of the identification cardholding pocket, the card, the buckle, and the strap, with the latterbeing threaded through the buckle in the manner of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the structure of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a sectional side view taken on the line 66 of FIG. 5 showingthe strap and buckle in threading position;

FIG. 7 is a sectional View along the line 77 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary view of the underside of the device in aposition corresponding to that of FIG. 5, but with the strap in anadvanced adjusted and locked position relative to FIG. 5;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view along the line 99 of FIG. 8, but with thebuckle in the side position of FIG. 6, and with the tongue of the bucklein a relaxed locking position;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged fragmentary view corresponding in size to theillustrations of FIGS. 4, 5 and 8, and in the position of FIG. 8,showing the underside of the pocket of the identification band and acard therein as inserted from the opening on that side;

FIG. 11 is a sectional side view along the line 1111 of FIG. 10, butwith the tongue of the buckle in a taut position resisting removal ofthe strap therefrom;

FIG. 12 is a greatly enlarged sectional view transversely of the pocketalong the line 1212 of FIG. 11; and

FIG. 13 is an exploded fragmentary detail of the pocket, strap andfastener portions.

In accordance with the present invention a patient identification bandprimarily for use in hospitals is provided in a unitary plastic producthaving a strap portion and an integral buckle portion on one end thereofto threadably receive the opposite or loose end of the strap portiontherethrough. Apertures are provided longitudinally of the strap portionto provide adjustment of the band to various wrist or arm sizes. Once aparticular aperture or hole has been drawn into register with theintegral plastic tongue provided within the buckle, reverse travel ofthe strap is prevented and the band will be locked in that adjustment. Apocket portion is provided as an integral portion of the strap andenclosed with a sealed transparent envelope to visibly house anidentification card. The buckle, strap body, and strap portions of theband are entirely composed of integral elements and it is thereforereadily produced by low cost injection molding methods, while theclosure portions for the strap body which form a card pocket therewithare provided in plastic sheets which are sealed together and to thestrap body.

The identification band generally indicated at 15 in FIG. 1 is shown inactual size and includes an integral buckle portion 16 at one endthereof, a wider pocket portion 17 formed in the strap body to houseidentification card 18, and a narrower strap portion 19 having spacedtongue holes 20 therethrough and which terminates in a loose end formedinto a pair of prong-like starter ears 21. The fiat pocket portion 17 isenclosed by a transparent envelope 22 so that the identification dataentered on the identification card will be visible therethrough afterthe card is inserted in the pocket. The construction of the pocket willbe described later in more detail.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 the bracelet is placed on a body member,such as the wrist, with the raised portion of the buckle 16 and the dataside of the pocket portion 17 facing outward. Then the starter ears 21on the end of the strap portion 19 are brought around the wrist andthreaded through the buckle portion 16 a distance sufiicient to allowthem to be grasped with the fingers of one hand as shown in FIG. 2. Thesides of the buckle 16 are then grasped between the thumb and forefingerof the other hand in a pinching posture and the perforated portion ofthe strap is drawn through the buckle until the bracelet fits the wristas shown in FIG. 3. Due to the features of the bracelet hereafterdescribed in detail, the strap is then locked by the buckle againstreturn movement of the strap, thus preventing removal of the braceletfrom the wrist. The excess strap material is then cut off and discardedand the band remains at the desired circumference.

The structure and cooperation of the buckle 16 and strap 19 are shownmore fully in FIGS. 4 through 11. Arrows indicating the direction ofmovement of the strap portion when assembling on the patient are shownon the thumb in FIG. 2, on the left-hand side of the strap in FIGS. 4and and on the right-hand side in FIG. 6. The arrow in FIG. 11 shows thedirection of pull on the strap portion when the buckle acts to preventseparation of the strap from the buckle in locked position.

Referring first to FIG. 5, the underside of the buckle generallyindicated at 16 includes a pair of spaced sides 25 with serrations 26 onthe outer surfaces thereof which provide a better gripping surface forthe threading operation as described in connection with FIG. 2. Thesides 26 are integral with bottom portions 27 and 28 (FIG. 9), whichportions are spaced from each other to form the slot 29 therebetween. Tofacilitate the threading operation, the slot edge of the bottom portion27 is cut away to form recess '30 and the upper surface 31 of portion 27is sloped downwardly into slot 29 (FIG. 9). The slot edge of the bottomportion 23 is provided with an upwardly tapering lip 32 along the centerportion thereof, which may be more clearly seen in section in FIG. 9.The slot edges of the bottom portions 27 and 28 will have a slight draftangle, as illustrated in the sectional views, when the bracelet isproduced by an injection molding process.

A bridge 35 is provided on the upper side of the buckle 16 integral withthe sides 25 to span the slot 29 and to form a longitudinal passagewayfor receiving the strap. This may be more clearly seen in the top viewof FIG. 4 and in the sectional view of FIG. 7. The upper side of whichconverge in an integral half-spherical reinforcing knob 37. It will benoted from FIG. 9 that the under surface of the bridge 35 is spaced fromthe upper surfaces of the bottom portions 27 and 28 a distance slightlygreater than the thickness of the strap 19 received therebetween.

The unstrained relationship of a tongue 38 with respect to the bridge 35is shown in the sectional view of FIG. 9. The tongue 38 is carriedintegrally dependent on the underside of the bridge 35 and extendsdownwardly at an acute angle therewith into the slot 29. The forward andrearward sides of tongue 38 are inclined at substantially the same angleof incidence A, except for the portions of the surfaces which form thehook-shaped portion at the lower end of the tongue.

In order to provide an adjustable identification band, the strap 19 isperforated with a plurality of tongue holes 2%) spaced along the centerline thereof for substantially the entire length of the strap. Thesetongue holes have parallel sides spaced a distance slightly Wider thanthe lateral thickness of the tongue 38 to allow the tongue to passtherethrough. The transverse locking surfaces 39 of the tongue holes 20are inclined by an amount represented by the angle B (FIG. 11) so that awedge-like engagement may be obtained in the acute angle formed betweenthe undersurface of the bridge 35 and the rear surface of the tongue 38.The threading surfaces 4 of center holes 2b opposite the lockingsurfaces 39 are V-shaped to provide a converging surface to engage thetongue 33 therebetween (FIGS. 5 and 6).

When the strap 19 is positioned within the buckle 16, these elementscooperate to provide a unidirectionally adjustable locking bracelet.Thethreading operation is commenced by inserting the starter ears 21between the undersurface of the bridge 35 and the upper surface of thebottom portions 27 and 28 and on either side of the tongue 38. Then bypushing them therethrough to pass over slot 29, they will be availableas shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 for pulling in the direction of the arrowshown on the operators thumb. The fiat surfaces of the starter cars 21have serrations 21a, as shown in FIG. 4, to facilitate gripping them.The V-shaped closed end of the slot between the starter ears 21 (FIG. 1)will thus be brought to bear against the side edges of the tongue 38.Gripping the sides 25 of the buckle with the other hand, the strap 19 isthen further pulled in the threading direction. The threading surface ofthe slot bears against the forwardsurface of the tongue 38, and thetongue is bent rearwardly to the defonmed position shown in FIGS. 5, 6,and 7, as the strap is pulled to the desired adjusted position. Theconverging threading surfaces 40 tend to force the tongue upwardly outof slot 29. Simultaneously the strap 19 is deformed downward into theslot 29 of the buckle, which deformation is aided by the deformation ofthe slot edges of the bottom portions 27 and 28 and by flexure of bridgeportion 35 (FIGS. 6 and 7). When the tongue 38 is fully deformed it willbe retracted backwardly against the undersurface of the bridge 35, thusallowing the solid portion of the strap 19 to overrun the hook-shapedend of the depressed tongue as the strap passes through the slot 29.

When the first of the tongue holes 20 comes into register with the endof the tongue 33 the flexible tongue will return to its relaxed positiondependent in the center of the slot 29, thereby projecting through hole20 as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. Due to the resiliency of the plastic, thebottom and bridge portions will return to their prior unstrainedpositions to hold the strap 19 snugly between the bottom of the buckleand the underside of the bridge 35 (FIG. 9). The longitudinal dimensionof each tongue hole 20 exceeds the longitudinal thickness of the tongue38 by an amount sufiicient to allow a slight degree of play in the band.Thus an expansion factor may be provided without affecting the lockingfeatures should it be desired to accommodate abnormal expansion andcontraction conditions of the wrist, arm, or other part of the body towhich the bracelet is being attached.

As shown in FIGS. and 11, reverse travel of the strap 19 will bring theangled locking surface 39 of the tongue hole 20 into engagement with therear side of the tongue 38 to lock the bracelet in position. If furtherforce is exerted on the strap in the reverse direction the strap will bewedged more tightly into the acute angle complementary to angle A,thereby making the engagement between the strap and tongue more secure,as illustrated from the relaxed position of FIGS. 8 and 9 to the tautposition of FIGS. 10 and 11, whereby the hookshaped end of the tonguebears against the inclined lip 32 of the bottom portion 28. With lip 32providing a locking surface which acts as a safety catch on the deformed tongue,- no further reverse movement of the strap is possible andrupture of the strap will occur before the failure point of the lockingelements is reached. Thus once the strap is threaded to the first holeposition no reverse threading is possible and even at that position thehospital attendant, for instance, is assured that the identificationband will not become u-nfastened and lost. However, the strap may bethreaded forward to advance subsequent tongue holes 20 under bridge 35and into engaged position with the tongue 38, the resiliency of thebuckle and strap elements allowing a repetition of the defionmationsequence over the entire length of the strap without impairing thefunctioning of the device.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention it has been found that thefollowing dimensions and angular relationships will provide suitableoperation:

Angle A 45. Angle B 30. Thickness of strap 19 .050 inch. Height ofpassage between bridge 35 and bottom portions 27 and 28 .052 inch.V-angle of threading edges 40 60. Width of tongue 38 .156 inch. Width oftongue hole 20 and of slot between star-ter ear 21 .164 inch. Angle ofsloping edge 31 from the horizontal Longitudinal width of bridge 3515/64 inch.

Horizontal distance between forward edge of bridge 35 and slot edge ofbottom portion 28 .009 inch. Distance between incline surface of lip 32and forward surface of the hook-shaped end of tongue 38 .060 inch.Distance between inner surfaws of sides 25- .443 inch. Width of strap 19.438 inch. Bracelet material polyethylene. Material of pocket envelope22 vinyl.

It is to be understood that the above dimensions and materials are notintended to limit the invention, but are included for a more completedescription of an embodiment of the invention.

As was previously described, the identification band is provided with awidened pocket portion 17 formed in the strap body between buckleportion 16 and strap portion 19. The details of the construction of thepocket and envelope assembly are best shown in FIGS. 8-13. The strapbody is flared out into a flat, wide rectangular portion 17 having ashallow rectangular pocket recess 171: formed therein to receive andposition the identification card 18. A cover in the form of atransparent vinyl plastic envelope 22. encloses pocket portion 17. Theinner and outer layers 22a and 22b respectively of envelope 22 consistof two thin, elongated vinyl plastic sheets which are large enough toextend beyond the longitudinal side edges of portion 17. One of thesevinyl sheets is positioned on each face of portion 17 and then thesheets are electronically sealed to one another along the side edges ofthe portion 17 (FIGS. 8 and 12) by applying a radio frequency currentthrough a suitable die. Thus, recess 17a is enclosed by bottom layer 22aof envelope 22 and the vinyl envelope is held in position by thepolyethylene pocket portion 17. One end of envelope 22 is also sealed byelectronically sealing the sheets 22a and 2212 together through anaperture 45 in the strap portion 19 to further maintain the envelopepieces together and to prevent the identification card from working outof the pocket from that end.

Although a satisfactory seal or cement of vinyl sheet to thepolyethylene member is not possible this construction and positioningprovides a pocket for the card which is effectively a part of the entiredevice as though it were integral therewith, and the pocket protects thecard against damage while on the arm, wrist, or the like for thepatient.

Referring now to FIGS. 9 and 10, it will be seen that the inner orbottom layer 22a of envelope 22 extends beyond the end of therectangular recess 17a in the pocket portion 17 to provide a flapportion 22a adjacent to the bottom portion 27 of the buckle. This flap22af is pulled downwardly to facilitate insertion of the card 18 intothe pocket portion 17, as indicated in FIG. 9. When the card 18 is fullyinserted the tab 18a bearing the insertion ilr structions is torn off atthe perforated line and discarded, leaving the identification cardwithin the pocket formed by recess 17a in portion 17 and by thesurrounding sealed envelope 22. Since the pocket recess 17a of portion17 and the envelope flap 22a are provided on'the under side of thebracelet, any tendency of the card to Work out of the flap end will beresisted by the curvature of the bracelet against the body member towhich it is attached.

What is claimed is:

1. An identification band for use on a persons wrist or like portion ofsuch wearer, such band comprising a unitary polyethylene member havingan identification card receiving portion with an integral fastenerportion extending longitudinally therefrom at one end of saididentification card receiving portion and an integral apertured strapportion extending longitudinally therefrom at the other end of saididentification card receiving portion, with said apertured strap portionadapted to be threaded through a central bore configuration of saidfastener portion, said fastener portion further having an integralinwardly extending fastener tongue to flexibly and automatically extendinto a selected aperture in the strap portion to lock such strap portionin a desired position,. and first and second vinyl plastic elementslocated on opposite sides of said identification card receiving portion,with said vinyl plastic elements sealed together at each edgeimmediately outside the adjacent corresponding longitudinal edge of theidentification card receiving portion and'sealed together at one end ofeach element through a strap portion aperture, said plastic elementsbeing separated at the other end adjacent the fastener portion toprovide a pocket for insertion of an identification card which isadapted to be retained therein between one plastic element and the otheradjacent face of the identification card receiving portion of saidpolyethylene plastic member.

2. An identification band for a patient in a hospital or in a likesituation where identification at all times is desired, said bandcomprising a one-piece flexible member of plastic material having anelongated apertured strap portion, an identification-card-receivingportion extending longitudinally from said strap portion and integraltherewith, and a buckle portion extending from said card receivingportion and integral therewith having a central bore configuration forreceiving said strap portion therein, said buckle portion having anapertured wall forming one side of said bore in said buckle, a bridgingportion forming an opposite side of said bore, and an integral yieldabletongue on said bridging portion extending into the aperture in theopposite wall, said tongue having a bendable neck portion directlyintegral with said bridging portion and having a hook-shaped extensionthereon with said extension in the unbent condition of said tongue beingspaced from an edge of said opposite Wall-aperture on the side of saidtongue first engaged by said strap portion as it is threaded into thebuckle for mounting the band on a person, said tongue being shaped onthe opposite side thereof to provide a cavity immediately adjacent thepoint where said neck portion extends from said bridging portion, withsaid tongue bending in the direction of movement therethrough of saidstrap portion in a band-mounting operation to open the bore and permitsaid movement and with said tongue bending in the opposite directionwhen an effort is made to withdraw said strap portion from said buckleportion, and with an edge of a strap portion aperture adapted to engagein the cavity of said tongue and pull said tongue into locking positionwith said edge of said opposite-wall-aperture when the identificationband is expanded to prevent withdrawal of said strap portion from saidbuckle portion.

3. A plastic band adapted to be mounted on the Wrist or a similar memberof the person wearing the band, said band comprising a one-piece unitcomplete in unitary construction with a buckle portion for fastening theband on the wearer and a strap portion having a loose end for encirclingsuch member of the wearer, said buckle portion having oppositelydisposed side portions spaced apart by a bridge portion and by a bottomportion opposite therefrom, said side, bridge and bottom portions beingdimensioned relative to one another to form a yieldable threadingpassage through said buckle portion for receiving said strap portionwith a close clearance fit therethrough, said buckle portion having anintegral flexile tongue extending into the center of the threadingpassage and having a passage locking surface spaced from the side ofsaid tongue engaged by said strap portion as it is moved in a threadingdirection through the passage,

said locking surface being shaped to limit flexing of said tongue in thedirection opposite to said threading direction, said strap portionincluding a plurality of longitudinally spaced tongue holes therein witheach such hole having a V-shaped threading edge and a transverse lockingedge and adapted to receive the tongue at an adjusted position of thestrap portion, said loose end of said strap portion being slotted toform a pair of starter ears shaped to be threadably received in thethreading passage to bypass said tongue 1n the threading direction untilsaid ears extend beyond said buckle portion in position to be grasped bythe person placing the plastic band on a wearer and pulled in saidthreading direction, said strap portion with spaced tongue holes beingmovable in said threading direction through said buckle portion withsaid hole threading edges and the adjacent portion of the strap flexingsaid tongue and with said bridge and bottom portions yielding to allowpassage of said strap portion therethrough until a desired tongue holeis drawn under said bridge portion to receive said tongue therethrough,said tongue being engaged by said hole locking edge and locking againstsaid passage locking surface when the travel of said strap portion isreversed whereby the band is secured in the desired position on thewearer.

4. A disposable plastic identification band for use on a persons wristor like portion of such wearer and particularly adapted to identify thatperson while a patient in a hospital, said band comprising a oneapiecepolyethylene member having a pocket body portion with an integralfastener Portion extending longitudinally therefrom at one end of saidpocket-body portion and an integral a ertured strap portion extendinglongitudinally therefrom at the other end of said pocket-body portion, apair of vinyl plastic elements with one on each side of the pockctbodyportion which are sealed together at each edge immediately outside theadjacent corresponding longitudinal edge of the pocket-body portion andwhich are sealed together at one'end of each element through astrapportion aperture but are separated at the other end adjacent thefastener portion to provide a pocket for insertion at that end of anidentification card which is adapted to be retained therein between oneplastic element and the adjacent face of the pocket-body portion, withsaid apertured strap portion being adapted to be threaded through thefastener portion and over the outside of the adjacent plastic element atthe pocket-body portion, and a fastener tongue integral with saidfastener portion, extending inwardly thereof, and adapted to flexiblyand automatically extend into a selected aperture in the strap portionto lock such strap portion in a desired adjusted position of thedisposable plastic band on the wearer.

5. A disposable identification band comprising a oneuiecepolyethylenemember of unitary construction, said member having a-fiexible strapportion with a loose end for encircling a body member, a buckle portionfor fastening the band, and a flat pocket portion intermediate saidstrap and buckle portions having a recess therein for receiving anidentification card, an envelope surrounding said pocket port-ion butbeing free thereof and comprising two layers of vinyl plastic, one oneach side of said pocket portion and held thereabout by one layer beingsealed to the other layer along the longitudinal edges of said pocketportion, said buckle portion including oppositely disposed side portionsconnected by an apcrtured bottom portion and by a bridge portion acrossthe top of said side portions opposite the aperture of said bottomportion, said side, bottom and bridge portions of said buckle portionforming a threading passage therethrough for said strap portion, saidbridge portion having a shaped tongue extending therefrom into theaperture, said strap portion having a plurality of longitudinally spacedtongue holes therein each having a vV-slraped threading edge and atransverse locking edge, 'said strap portion terminating in a loose endslotted to form a pair of starter ears which have a threading surfacethereon whereby said starter ears may be thread ably received under saidbridge portion to bypass said tongue in a threading direction until saidears extend beyond said buckle portion in position to be grasped andpulled in said threading direction, said strap portion with tongue holesadapted to be pulled in said threading direction through said bucklepontion with the threading edge of each hole and adjacent strap port-ionflexing said tongue in said threading direction to allow passage :ofsaid strap portion therethrough until a desired tongue hole is drawnunder said bridge [portion to receive said tongue therethrough, and withsaid tongue being locked in 'a tongue hole by the locking edge thereofacting to flex the tongue against an edge or" the aperture when thetravel of said strap is reversed so as to secure the band in the desiredposition.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS I

1. AN IDENTIFICATION BAND FOR USE ON A PERSON''S WRIST OR LIKE PORTIONOF SUCH WEARER, SUCH BAND COMPRISING A UNITARY POLYETHYLENE MEMBERHAVING AN IDENTIFICATION CARD RECEIVING PORTION WITH AN INTEGRALFASTENER PORTION EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY THEREFROM AT ONE END OF SAIDIDENTIFICATION CARD RECEIVING PORTION AND AN INTEGRAL APERTURED STRAPPORTION EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY THEREFROM AT THE OTHER END OF SAIDIDENTIFICATION CARD RECEIVING PORTION, WITH SAID APERTURED STRAP PORTIONADAPTED TO BE THREADED THROUGH A CENTRAL BORE CONFIGURATION OF SAIDFASTENER PORTION, SAID FASTENER PORTION FURTHER HAVING AN INTEGRALINWARDLY EXTENDING FASTENER TONGUE TO FLEXIBLY AND AUTOMATICALLY EXTENDINTO A SELECTED APERTURE IN THE STRAP PORTION TO LOCK SUCH STRAP PORTIONIN A DESIRED POSITION, AND FIRST AND SECOND VINYL PLASTIC ELEMENTSLOCATED ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID IDENTIFICATION CARD RECEIVING PORTION,WITH SAID VINYL PLASTIC ELEMENTS SEALED TOGETHER AT EACH EDGEIMMEDIATELY OUTSIDE THE ADJACENT CORRESPONDING LONGITUDINAL EDGE OF THEIDENTIFICATION CARD RECEIVING PORTION AND SEALED TOGETHER AT ONE END OFEACH ELEMENT THROUGH A STRAP PORTION APERTURE, SAID PLASTIC ELEMENTSBEING SEPARATED AT THE OTHER END ADJACENT THE FASTENER PORTION TOPROVIDE A POCKET FOR INSERTION OF AN IDENTIFICATION CARD WHICH ISADAPTED TO BE RETAINED THEREIN BETWEEN ONE PLASTIC ELEMENT AND THE OTHERADJACENT FACE OF THE IDENTIFICATION CARD RECEIVING PORTION OF SAIDPOLYETHYLENE PLASTIC MEMBER.